Reflections on Live
Reflections on Live Classroom:
Thanks to the great team at Wodonga TAFE for their professionalism and enthusiasm, this project could not have proceeded without that.
My role at Wodonga TAFE as mentor for the teachers exploring Live Classroom for their students is coming to an end for 2005
During that time we have enabled 4 members of staff to become familiar with, explore the potential of and pilot the Inclusive Eclassrom in the Live Classroom suite provided at TAFEVC. I will share with you my reflections on the stages we've moved through for this project.
Stage One:
A great deal of time was spent in ensuring that the system could be accessed successfully from various PCs in Wodonga TAFE and this proved to be quite frustrating as we tried to unravel the technical issues preventing our success. Wodonga has in place extra security for the use of any web based software, and does not allow the downloading of programs by individuals without authority. So this process required the assistance of authorised Network IT support services and needed to be logged for action electronically. During this stage, I re-learned the importance of building an amicable relationship with IT service personnel. I also learned the importance of asking the right questions to ensure that I was well informed. e.g. being able to use the Live Classroom administration effectively.
Stage Two:
During the weeks of preparation prior to the student trials the teachers were optimistic, enthusiastic and excited about its potential for their issues with the group. However, they eventually felt exhausted in trying to ensure a successful and enjoyable experience for their disadvantaged students. The infrastructure at Wodonga TAFE was not sufficiently supportive or effective to enable the use of the room by any more than two or three participants. The audio was slow, delayed and intermittent through the Network links and the major use of the Live Classroom - Shared Applications - was not able to be used effectively. During this stage I was encouraged by the enthusiasm and resilience of the staff involved.
Stage Three:
We ran a series of pilot lessons with the student group over a period of 3-4 weeks. Students in group one (including some with a variety of disabilities) have participated in the pilot with mixed results.
There was an initial fear of being different (wearing headphones), then a feeling of excitement as they explored the capabilities of Live Classroom, to a feeling of frustration when the functionality became too slow or inoperative. We measured the time it took for all 8 of the students to login to the Inclusive eClassroom and this took as long as 30 minutes for the last person in. Much of this was due to the Network firewall rather than the operation of the software. In fact when using it from either Broadband or Dialup from outside of the Wodonga Network, it worked very well. During this stage I was frustrated with the delays and their effects on the student behaviour and realised that this was not a viable option for groups of students with such disabilities.
Overview of Live Classroom functionality:
This tool has great potential and is quite easy to use, however, I feel that it is still in an embryonic stage and will with further upgrades become more reliable. A teacher using this tool for sharing applications is challenged by the multiplicity of tasks they need to perform. A teacher wishing to make effective use of voice tools is challenged by the fact that anyone can talk over anyone else. The ease of process for the uploading of ppt slides and being able to do that prior to sessions is an excellent feature. There are some complexities in the use of the eboard that need to be addressed, such as the use of the tools e.g. they don't indicate their function before use. (no popup flags). The additional feature of a phone bridge is an excellent feature and one that should be retained.
All of the technical issues experienced at Wodonga were discussed with personnel at Netspot and the IT services at Wodonga and we were provided with individual assistance from Netspot. We are now at the point where Wodonga is employing outside consultants to look at their system.
Next steps:
We are now pilotting a series of lessons with Group Two students (in Business/IT studies) using Elluminate Live software. We have found the training for teachers in the use of this software enhanced by the training they had previously received in the use of Live Classroom. A great advantage as we moved forward in setting up a classroom, accessing the software in the computer lab, and selecting the students.
Thanks to the great team at Wodonga TAFE for their professionalism and enthusiasm, this project could not have proceeded without that.
My role at Wodonga TAFE as mentor for the teachers exploring Live Classroom for their students is coming to an end for 2005
During that time we have enabled 4 members of staff to become familiar with, explore the potential of and pilot the Inclusive Eclassrom in the Live Classroom suite provided at TAFEVC. I will share with you my reflections on the stages we've moved through for this project.
Stage One:
A great deal of time was spent in ensuring that the system could be accessed successfully from various PCs in Wodonga TAFE and this proved to be quite frustrating as we tried to unravel the technical issues preventing our success. Wodonga has in place extra security for the use of any web based software, and does not allow the downloading of programs by individuals without authority. So this process required the assistance of authorised Network IT support services and needed to be logged for action electronically. During this stage, I re-learned the importance of building an amicable relationship with IT service personnel. I also learned the importance of asking the right questions to ensure that I was well informed. e.g. being able to use the Live Classroom administration effectively.
Stage Two:
During the weeks of preparation prior to the student trials the teachers were optimistic, enthusiastic and excited about its potential for their issues with the group. However, they eventually felt exhausted in trying to ensure a successful and enjoyable experience for their disadvantaged students. The infrastructure at Wodonga TAFE was not sufficiently supportive or effective to enable the use of the room by any more than two or three participants. The audio was slow, delayed and intermittent through the Network links and the major use of the Live Classroom - Shared Applications - was not able to be used effectively. During this stage I was encouraged by the enthusiasm and resilience of the staff involved.
Stage Three:
We ran a series of pilot lessons with the student group over a period of 3-4 weeks. Students in group one (including some with a variety of disabilities) have participated in the pilot with mixed results.
There was an initial fear of being different (wearing headphones), then a feeling of excitement as they explored the capabilities of Live Classroom, to a feeling of frustration when the functionality became too slow or inoperative. We measured the time it took for all 8 of the students to login to the Inclusive eClassroom and this took as long as 30 minutes for the last person in. Much of this was due to the Network firewall rather than the operation of the software. In fact when using it from either Broadband or Dialup from outside of the Wodonga Network, it worked very well. During this stage I was frustrated with the delays and their effects on the student behaviour and realised that this was not a viable option for groups of students with such disabilities.
Overview of Live Classroom functionality:
This tool has great potential and is quite easy to use, however, I feel that it is still in an embryonic stage and will with further upgrades become more reliable. A teacher using this tool for sharing applications is challenged by the multiplicity of tasks they need to perform. A teacher wishing to make effective use of voice tools is challenged by the fact that anyone can talk over anyone else. The ease of process for the uploading of ppt slides and being able to do that prior to sessions is an excellent feature. There are some complexities in the use of the eboard that need to be addressed, such as the use of the tools e.g. they don't indicate their function before use. (no popup flags). The additional feature of a phone bridge is an excellent feature and one that should be retained.
All of the technical issues experienced at Wodonga were discussed with personnel at Netspot and the IT services at Wodonga and we were provided with individual assistance from Netspot. We are now at the point where Wodonga is employing outside consultants to look at their system.
Next steps:
We are now pilotting a series of lessons with Group Two students (in Business/IT studies) using Elluminate Live software. We have found the training for teachers in the use of this software enhanced by the training they had previously received in the use of Live Classroom. A great advantage as we moved forward in setting up a classroom, accessing the software in the computer lab, and selecting the students.
posted by Carole @ Wodonga at
11:44 PM
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